Areas the Indianapolis Colts need to improve in order to make the playoffs

The Indianapolis Colts scored a huge 25-24 victory over the New England Patriots to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Since Shane Steichen can now give Anthony Richardson and Co. a break during the bye week, the Colts have the last four games to look forward to.

The reality is that Indianapolis needs to win to have a chance at postseason glory. Indianapolis plays after the bye Denver Broncos (away), Tennessee Titans (home), New York Giants (away) and Jacksonville Jaguars (home).

Despite an easy schedule to close out the regular season, the Colts need to clean up several areas of their game if they want to have the best possible chance of winning. Here are the four areas that are noticeable and need to be addressed.

Better run defense

The Colts defense wasn’t particularly confident in the tackles. Per Professional football focusThe Colts have a huge number of missed tackles with EJ Speed ​​(20), Nick Cross (14) and Zaire Franklin (13). Given that the Colts haven’t played against elite teams all that often, this isn’t an encouraging record. Plus, Speed’s 20 missed tackles are bad enough for second in the league (Budda Baker – Arizona Cardinals; 23).

The combination of so many missed tackles with the inability to stop the run is a recipe for disaster if left unaddressed. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart and the defensive front tend to get their work done against opposing ground players, so the linebackers and safeties need to step up the play. Look for Gus Bradley to rely on improved tackling as much as possible, as Indy is an abysmal third-worst in the NFL with 147.0 rushing yards allowed per game.

More consistency from Jonathan Taylor

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had a solid season with 186 attempts for 804 rushing yards (4.3 average) and five touchdowns on the ground. As for the receiving game, Taylor has 14 catches for 118 receiving yards (8.4 average) and another score (six all-purpose yards).

While Taylor is still the best offensive weapon, he has had shaky performances against teams like this New York Jets And Detroit Lions. With every remaining game a must-win, Taylor can’t accept any more defeats or risk missing the playoffs.

The remaining schedule calls for different tiers for run defense, with the Broncos ranked sixth, the Titans ranked 16th, the Giants ranked 29th and the Jaguars ranked 24th. So Taylor and the offensive line will have to do their best to bolster Taylor and Steichen’s attack.

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Fewer turnovers from Anthony Richardson

Colts quarterback Richardson has looked better since coming off the bench for Joe Flacco and making game-winning plays against the Jets and Patriots. Even his loss to the Lions had a stat that had no context when in reality the signal caller was playing well.

While Richardson’s recent games are encouraging, the turnovers must stop in order to win for the 2024 season. Richardson’s passing numbers are improving, but still shaky with 102/215 completions (47.4%) with seven touchdowns through the air. He also racked up 70 carries for 383 yards (5.5 average) and four scores. However, he also has nine interceptions and fumbles.

If Indianapolis is to stay the same over the final four games, Richardson can’t continue to put the ball in danger against better teams like Denver. We’ll see if Richardson can work on fundamentals like that during the break.

Better receiving from tight ends

Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson and Drew Ogletree were the prominent tight ends for Indianapolis in 2024. But while Alie-Cox and Ogletree were solid blockers, they and Granson have offered little to nothing in terms of receiving threats.

Alie-Cox leads the group with 11 catches, while Ogletree is close behind with eight, followed by Granson with seven. Together, the trio has just 26 catches. This is a sad statistic considering Granson had 30 catches in all of 2023.

The Colts need to give Richardson as many receiving weapons as possible. Yes, wideouts Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and AD Mitchell are excellent options, but tight ends help a young quarterback and Indy is missing that element. Josh Downs still has a shoulder injury and may miss even more time, so the tight ends need to step up and provide more support.

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